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Key Stage 1 Victorian School Day
Posted On: 28 April 2017
Key Stage 1 Victorian School Day
On the 15th March children in the Reception classes and Key Stage 1 endured (rather than enjoyed!) a Victorian school day, during which they learnt about what it would have been like to go to school during this era. The re-enactment lasted the morning and gave pupils a real incite to how much education has changed.
The children were shocked when they walked into their classrooms to find they had been transformed into colourless, bland rooms with desks in rows and chalk and slates ready for writing with (no inter-active whiteboard or colourful displays and resources). They started the day with a hand inspection before being allowed into the classroom. Throughout the day they experienced learning the three R’s – reading, writing and arithmetic: chanting times tables, number facts, practising number formation and working out sums in silence. They were asked questions that they had to stand up to answer and if their answers were incorrect they had to wear the dunce hat – my goodness, how far education has come!
When the children arrived at assembly they were truly horrified to see that even the head teacher had transformed for the day. They had to stand for the entire assembly and were read passages from the bible (in traditional English that probably meant very little), sang the National Anthem and recited the Lord’s Prayer.
After this they had ‘drill’ outside. The children stood in a straight line copying different movements from the head teacher, the Victorian idea of physical education which actually involved minimal movement and lots of ‘barked instructions’. Following this the children had recess; unfortunately for the children this meant walking around the playground in a straight line in silence. How dull! No snack either.
Reading and writing consisted of the children writing sentences dictated by the teachers, practicing Victorian script handwriting, learning how to spell words through chanting and rhymes, reciting the alphabet repeatedly and writing repetitive lines. It is a wonder anybody in Victorian times learned to read using strategies like this, without a book in sight!
In Year 2 the girls and boys were split for part of the day; the boys were taught technical drawing whilst the girls learnt how to sew.
It was a truly awful day for the children and the teachers. The teachers disliked seeing the children so sad and disheartened and the children clearly did not enjoy Victorian teaching methods. However, their understanding of how much things have changed is now very clear and their empathy with children in the past has been greatly enhanced. Our thanks to parents and carers for supporting us in our historic re-enactment through the provision of Victorian clothing; the children looked amazing and we really appreciate all the effort you went to.
